ঔপনিবেশিক এশিয়ায় বঙ্গনারীর ভ্রমণযাত্রা/ Bengali Women’s Travelogues in Colonial Asia

Abstract

Women’s issue remained one of the major aspects of the social reform programmes of nineteenth century Bengal and women’s education was the most important one of them. As a result of this spread of education, a group of Bengali women got the opportunities to articulate their ideas and emotions through various kinds of writings. Travel writings can be regarded as one of the important subjects of this genre. Besides, different aspects of life like education, style of dress, conjugality, the question about going beyond the purdah system had been discussed in this scenario. The process and experiences of travel is a useful and effective medium of self-realization as well as a tool to ensure one’s self-identity through a different way. Throughout the nineteenth century, the notion of travel for the Indians was closely related with the notion of freedom. This concept was more apparent in the women’s writings. It perhaps appeared as a blessing for them who had been restricted in various ways by their family and society. Apparently, the number of women who got the opportunity to travel and whose writings were published and became popular were few but along with these, there were many unpublished and ordinary travel writings which also projected the various dimensions of self-consciousness and quest for self-identity of them. A survey of contemporary Bengali periodicals shows that there were numerous examples of travel writings by indigenous women. In case of foreign tours, Bengali women travellers used to analyse and compare the situation of India and that of foreign lands. In the colonial period, the travelogues of Bengali women were not merely the description of the places or civilizations. Rather there was an inner sight of every explanation and discussion which made this narration the living portrait of the contemporary environment. They were composed by first hand experiences and presented in a simple manner. Women had judged and analysed each moment of their experiences in terms of their tradition, belief, heritage and values. This became a medium of searching for self –identity. Although they were often accompanied with male members of their family in their travels but their experiences were exclusively of their own. These travelling experiences opened a new horizon of consciousness among them which also has a historical significance.